A local high school swim coach is trying to figure out some new ways to support students in the fall after a grifter stole a donation collected by the program, she said in a phone interview this week.
Melissa Simmons, head coach for Golden Valley High School’s swim team, said she was speaking out about what happened first and foremost because she knows other programs used the service where she was scammed, and wanted to make sure no one else fell victim.
The program raises money so students can use the local swim facility in the offseason, when it otherwise wouldn’t be available.
Simmons, who said she takes all comers when it comes to tryouts and competing on the team, spends on the offseason training because it’s valuable time for her more experienced athletes to get ready for the season. And for others, she uses time to instill the fundamentals in students who’ve never competed.
But the lanes and the hours add up, she said, and the team usually spends around $2,000 to be able to train three days a week, for about 90 minutes at a time.
“So, going into this fall, as of right now, I can only … I have to cut it shorter, because I don’t have the money right now. It just happened, so I can only do two days, an hour and a half,” she said.
What happened, she said, is the program collected its annual clothing drive, which is a popular way local schools raise money for things like training, equipment, or uniforms — particularly in swimming, which can’t repurpose equipment and uniforms like in some other sports, Simmons said.
Last year, the team raised nearly $1,300 through the effort with Julimen, a South Los Angeles-based company, which pays school programs like Golden Valley’s 30 cents per pound for the items when they’re dropped off.
However, this year, when the team brought the clothes to its local Julimen representative in April, it never heard back.
And then eventually the rep became evasive and continued to make statements to Simmons that made her “feel like something was off,” so she contacted law enforcement, she said.
Walter Mendoza, who runs Julimen, said the clothing drives are usually a win-win for the program and the company, which “works the clothes,” separating the quality and then exporting, often wholesale, to places in Central America. He said in a recent phone interview the company has been in business since 2005.
The effort supports a number of nonprofits, including school programs and travel teams, he said.
However, he said the company’s process was recently exploited by a former employee, whom he believes might have collected clothes from multiple programs that were never brought to Julimen.
He said he feels terrible about the situation, which also made his company vulnerable.
“That’s one of the things that we always try to implement,” he said. “It’s easy to lose your reputation; it’s hard to get it, you know. So, we try to always keep things straightforward, and this guy really hurt the programs.”
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station is investigating the claim Simmons filed, she said, adding she’s had conversations with detectives who are working on the case.
SCV Sheriff’s Station officials have not arrested the suspect identified by Simmons as of this story’s publication, based on LASD custody records available online.
Simmons indicated that she is looking for new fundraising opportunities to help the team, although she mentioned the experience made her a bit shy on clothing drives.
She said anyone thinking of using one should make sure they’re working with an accredited agency.
Anyone who would like to support the program can contact her via email: [email protected].
